Phil Dawson focused on 'moving forward'

By JEFF SCHUDEL

Thursday, March 21, 2013

CLEVELAND -- Phil Dawson will not touch the touchy subject of whether the Browns ever offered him a contract before he signed with the 49ers on Tuesday.

Dawson was on a conference call for nearly 20 minutes Thursday with Cleveland media, courtesy of the 49ers media relations department. He was asked three times whether the Browns tried to keep him and each time he deflected the question by saying how happy he is to be with the 49ers.

"I appreciate the interest, but my focus is 100 percent on moving forward," Dawson said when asked the third time. "That's just how I'm going to roll with this.

"It's going to work out (for the Browns). That's just how sports go. I appreciate all the love and fan support. I just encourage everyone to be patient and embrace the new guy and support him the way they have done me."

The strange part of the whole episode is Dawson signed with the 49ers for only one year for far less money than he made in 2012 as the Browns' franchise player when he was paid $3.81 million. Dawson signed with the 49ers for a $1 million base salary, a $1 million signing bonus and $250,000 in miscellaneous bonuses.

The Browns have been mysterious and evasive throughout the process, although it should be noted rules of the CBA prohibited the Browns from negotiating with Dawson's agent, Neil Cornrich, until March 9 because he was their franchise player last year. CEO Joe Banner wouldn't answer in interviews before Dawson signed with San Francisco whether the Browns offered him a contract.

"We want to thank Phil for all of his years of service to the Cleveland Browns," the club said in a statement released Tuesday. "He accomplished a great deal in his time here on the field, as a team leader and in the community. We know how much Phil meant to our organization and our fans, and he will always hold a special place in our franchise's history and with the city of Cleveland."

During the NFL meetings in Phoenix this week, team owner Jimmy Haslam said Dawson's age was a factor in the decision as the Browns go through their bi-annual rebuilding process. Dawson, the only full-time kicker the Browns had in the last 14 years, is 38. Dawson, though, expects to keep on kicking for several more years.

"I leave Cleveland with nothing but positive feelings and love for the place," said Dawson, the Browns second all-time leading scorer with 1,271 points. "With all due respect to my years in Cleveland, when you have an opportunity to be a San Francisco 49er, that's not just something you ignore. When this opportunity presented itself, that became my focus.

"My mind shifted very quickly to what that would look like, what opportunity was truly there. How would it feel? What could I accomplish?

"It doesn't take long to come up with this was a great fit. It's one of the storied franchises in NFL history. It has a great front office. It's first class. Dynamic head coach (Jim Harbaugh). The guys love to play for him. It's a team that's right on the verge of winning it all. A great part of the country to live in. I guess a better question is 'Why not here?'"

Dawson said being reunited with 49ers special teams coach Brad Seely, his special teams coach with the Browns in 2009-10, was another reason for moving to San Francisco.

The Browns, because they never more than five games each of the past five years, will likely have only one token prime time game in 2013. The 49ers, on the other hand, can expect a full slate of Monday, Sunday and Thursday appearances. Dawson joked about needing to lose weight if he is going to be on prime time so often.

If all goes as Dawson hopes, the 49ers will be playing in the Super Bowl in February. Next season the Super Bowl will be contested in MetLife Stadium, home of the Giants and Jets.

As Dawson plugged away on a Browns team that made the playoffs only once, he moved closer and closer to Lou Groza's all-time Browns NFL record of 1,349 points. Had he returned, he could have moved past Groza in 2013. On Thursday he said the record should always belong to "The Toe."

"For Mr. Groza to remain the all-time leading scorer just seems right to me," Dawson said. "Mr. Groza is Mr. Cleveland Brown. He deserves all the recognition he's received through the years. He's a Hall of famer. The facility is on 76 Lou Groza Boulevard. He deserves all that. It's all as it should be."